How to fix hair before my wedding

[rosewater20]

I have medium length curly/wavy hair that is fine, but I have a lot of it (so not thin). I have been dealing with dry, damaged ends for the past six months. I get a trim every six weeks and yet within two weeks of having a trim the ends of my hair are once again damaged. It starts off getting dry and then develops split ends with the white tips (that indicate damage). Last week my hair stylist removed an inch of hair to try to get in front of the damage, but my ends are starting to feel dry again. I do not colour my hair, and while I use a blowdryer, I rarely use straighteners on the ends.

I am getting married in a year, and I want long and healthy hair. What can I do to fix my hair and get it to a healthy state?

Philip Kingsley elasticiser is good

I would start by taking a supplement specifically formulated for hair. I take this one and my hair has really improved

Keratin treatment is really good. Depending on your age take a prenatal too - can transform hair and skin.

@Thegirlisnotright Oh, I have used that in the past and forgot about it. I will get some. Thanks!

@Riverviews, what changes in your hair have you noticed? I was thinking about trying Nutrafol.

@Teddybear45 I was debating prenatal over hair supplement. We are planning on TTC right after the wedding so that might be a good option to start them soon.

So far, I have weaned myself off of the straighteners and hairdryer. I have naturally curly hair, so I am attempting to leave it as is with the help of Aveda curl products.

My new favourite product is an after Sun mask which I am using a couple of times a week called SU by davines. My hair has never felt so silky. It's quite expensive but found it a lot cheaper on eBay. X

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer -great for curly & fizzy hair.

Good nutrition.

And more intensive treatments. I din't think you need to spend on products. Just buy a big tub of coconut oil (though any oil would do) and really let it soak in from about an inch away from scalp - weekly, and the day before a day don't mind your hair looking a bit lank, as this won't help if you immediately wash and wash and wash.

@blitzen just checked and the mask has really great reviews on Amazon. Added to my cart. Thanks!

Stop using shampoo and just wash with conditioner. (eg. loosely follow the curly girl method but don't feel you need to 100% follow it to see a difference.)

@ AuntieStella I have been using various oils in my hair but that hasn't seemed to help. I started to wonder if I was actually damaging my hair by putting oil on it daily and then using heat on it the following day. Now, I am adding oil the night before I wash it and let it soak in overnight.

@rosewater20 ah brilliant! I hadn't realised it was on Amazon too. Hope you like it x

I just saw your question. Sorry.

First thing I noticed was that it was not falling anymore. I used to lose a lot of hair and within 2 months of taking these tablets, I saw a radical change.

A year later my hair is shinier, thicker and it actually grows. Every time I see a friend who has not seen me for a while, they comment. So it must be quite noticeable.

Initially I bought the tablets at the pharmacy in Spain, as recommended by the pharmacist. Now I order them online but I think they are shipped from Spain.

There are only two things you can do.

One is ensure good nutrition (so your body, including hair producing follicles) is working as well as possible, so your hair is the best it can be as it is formed.

After that point it is dead, and so it's a case of moisturing/conditioning, and anything else you can think of to avoid damage through wear and tear. That's why I recommended petting oils really soak in.

Repeated heat will damage hair irrespective of what you do between times. Can you minimise/eliminate the heat? Yes that means different styling, but there may be options you like

Coconut oil as a hair mask

@AuntieStella. My nutrition is pretty good, lots of vegetables and fish. Rarely eat packaged food. I think using heat is the big issue for my hair. I am naturally curly hair and normally let it airdry halfway and then finish it off with the diffuser for about three minutes. I thin curl the part of my hair that isn't as curly so it all matches. I have bought the Aveda curl cream and for the past week I have been trying to go as long as possible between washes and then just letting it dry naturally and not using any heat on it. I am planning on keeping this up and only using heat for special events.

I am going to also try the hair vitamins and will test them out for six months to see if I notice a difference.

Any tips on styling naturally curly hair without heat would be appreciated!

I have vaguely been following a kind of curly girl method for years (washing with conditioner rather than shampoo, trying to avoid silicons, sulphates and drying alcohols). The thought process behind it is:

Sulphates (in shampoos generally) strip the hair and dry it
Alcohols - ditto (there are some OK alcohols) - often in hair products/gels
Silicon (in conditioners) coat the hair with the aim of making it look shiny - but with curly hair, (which is more in need of moisture due to the cuticle and natural oils do not go down the shaft as they do with straight hair) the silicon coating the hair actually stops any of the good moisture penetrating it....leading to dryness and damage.

The last few weeks I have been more "religious" about the products I use. And gone onto the curly girls facebook page and learnt some useful techniques - such as really squishing the conditioner in, how to apply the product (praying hands).

Some bits are/feel really OTT - but my hair is in much, much better condition, I have proper ringlets beginning to form and I am (for the first time in my life) actually getting "second day hair".

It maybe worth a look for you.

Or alternatively maybe see if you can ease back on some of the "baddies" in your products. There is a website called "Curlbot" where you can cut/paste a list of ingredients and it will tell you if it is CG approved or not. A lot of "curly" products actually are not. And lots of cheap as chips (tescos extracts, Faith in Nature conditioners) for example are.

A lot of the people on the facebook page are, as I said above, OTT but it maybe worth a browse

Oh, and a couple of things from yours and PP posts.

1. Some people's curly hair loves coconut - some hair hates it. I changes to a coconut gel and my hair went like straw. I had not changed anything else - it was just an instant transformation in to a horrible mess. Dropped the coconut gel and my hair recovered after a wash or two.

2. A few of the Aveda products have silicon and other 'bad" stuff in. The Aveda "Be Curly" curl enhancer for example has silicon in it.

3. Protein vs moisture. This is a new one to me, but some hair needs protein to help it retain it's curl - otherwise it can be too limp. Other hair, if conditioned with a protein conditioner - or too much protein in a routine - will turn to straw/an uggy mess. To rebalance the hair will need to be loaded with moisture.

I was a bit pfffttt about some of this stuff but having added some protein to my routine (just a protein conditioner every other wash) my curls are not dropping out by the end of the day.

Anyway, I shall stop waffling at you now. I hope you get it sorted.

@ChopOrNot thank you, all of this is really helpful. I know that my shampoo and conditioner are free of the sulphates, silicones, fragrance, etc. But I hadn't thought about the silicones in my aveda curl. I went completely silicone free last year for a few months but I wasn't impressed with the condition of my hair. It really is trial and error and it can be an expensive experiment! What products do you use?

I use Faith in Nature conditioners. I use to co-wash - this is when wash with conditioner, rinse out and then add another load to condition it. You can use the same conditioner to co-wash and condition or you can mix and match. As long as they are silicon/alcohol etc etc free.

I am playing around at the moment, but started with using Umberto Giannino Curl-Jelly as a product. Apply with "praying hands" (ie not raking in through) and then squishing it all back up to help the curl form). Here umbertogiannini.com/shop/products/curl-jelly-scrunching-jelly It is sold on Ocado (and was on special offer) which was one reason I started with it. Sold in all the main supermarkets too. And often on offer - so the £7 a pop would often be cheaper.

I used it (as well as it being easy to get when I started) because a lot of the people on the Facebook page seemed to use it - so I guessed it was fairly easy going. A lot of others use cheap Tescos gel (49p a pot or something) and others use Eco-Gel - again, cheap as chips. I may start experimenting with cheaper gels once I am more in the swing of it.

Another huge favourite is this www.superdrug.com/Cantu/Cantu-Natural-Hair-Moisturizing-Curl-Activator-Cream-355ml/p/729427 You only need a tiny bit (5p size) on wet hair in the shower. So after conditioner put this in, squish it through thoroughly then blot hair with a t-shirt/microfibre towel before adding gel.

Quite a few people also swear by Pantene Hair mousse - make sure it is the right one www.boots.com/pantene-pro-v-defined-curls-mousse-200ml-long-lasting-hold-level-5-10153580 It can be better for fine hair (less heavy/doesn't pull the hair down).

One thing to remember - the gel/mousse may/will give you crunchy hair when it dries (either airdried or diffused - see for a good method). This is OK. Honest. It is your product "setting" your hair. Once it is dry you SOTC - Scrunch out the Crunch...just gently, from the bottom up, grasp your hair up towards you scalp...the product cast breaks and you should be left with soft, shiny curls with zero crunch.